X.

1821.

CHAP. the Archbishop of Canterbury, for a place in the Abbey at the coronation; but as they were subject to the King in Council in this matter, the petition was of course refused, though in the most courteous manner. Upon this her Majesty declared her resolution to appear personally at the coronation, and deliver her protest into the King's own hand. This determination, being known, diffused a general apprehension that a riot would ensue on the occasion; and to such a degree did the panic spread, that vi. 469,470; places to see the procession, which previously had been Ann. Reg. selling for ten guineas, were to be had on the morning of 1821, 124, 125; Mar the ceremony for half-a-crown, and all the troops in London and the vicinity were assembled near Westminster Abbey to preserve the peace.1

1 Hughes,

tineau, i. 259.

107.

The ceremony took place accordingly, but it soon Ceremony appeared that the precautions and apprehensions were casion, alike groundless. This coronation was memorable, not

on the oc

only for the unparalleled magnificence of the dresses, decorations, and arrangements made on the occasion, but for this circumstance-it was the LAST where the gorgeous but somewhat grotesque habiliments of feudal times appeared, or will ever appear, in the realm of England. All that the pomp of modern times could produce, or modern wealth purchase, joined to the magnificence of ancient costume, were there combined, and with the most imposing effect. The procession, which moved from the place where it was marshalled in Westminster Hall to the Abbey; the ceremony of coronation within the Abbey itself, which had seen so many similar pageants from the earliest days of English story; the splendid banquet in the Hall, where the Champion of England, in full armour, rode in, threw down his gauntlet to all who challenged the King's title, and backed his harnessed steed out of the Hall without turning on his sovereign, were all exhibited with the most overpowering magnificence. Sir Walter Scott, whose mind was so fraught

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1821.

1 Sir Walter

scription,

Chronicle,

with chivalrous images, has declared that "a ceremony CHAP. more august and imposing in all its parts, or more calculated to make the deepest impression both on the eye and the feelings, cannot possibly be conceived. The ex- Scott's Depense, so far as it is national or personal, goes directly Edinburgh and instantly to the encouragement of the British manu- July 23, facturer. It operates as a tax on wealth, and consider- 1821; Ann. Reg. 1821, ation for the benefit of poverty and industry—a tax will- 327, 346; Hughes, vi. ingly paid by one class, and not less acceptable to the 471, 472; other, because it adds a happy holiday to the monotony Chron. of a life of labour."1

App. to

108.

Wellington,

George IV.

Men whose names have become immortal, walked— some of them, alas! for the last time-in that magnificent Aspect of pageant. There was Wellington, who grasped in his London hand the baton won on the field of Vittoria, and bore derry, and by his side the sword which struck down Napoleon on the plains of Waterloo, and whose Roman countenance, improved but not yet dimmed by years, bespoke the lofty cast of his mind; there Lord Castlereagh, who had recently succeeded to the title of Londonderry, in the magnificent robes of the Garter, with his high plumes, fine face, and majestic person, appeared a fitting representative of the Order of Edward III.; and there was the Sovereign, the descendant of the founder of the Garter, whose air and countenance, though almost sinking under the weight of magnificence and jewels, revealed his high descent, and evinced the still untarnished blood of the Plantagenets and Stuarts. Nor was female beauty wanting to grace the splendid spectacle, for all the noblest and fairest of the nobility of England, the most lovely Sir Walter race in the world, were there, and added the lustre of supra; their diamonds, and the still brighter lustre of their eyes, vi. 473. to the enchantment of the matchless scene.2

But the first and highest lady in the realm was not there; and the disappointment she experienced at being refused admittance was one cause of her death, which

Scott, ut

Hughes,

X.

1821.

109.

is refused

Aug. 7.

CHAP. Soon after ensued. The Queen, with that resolution and indomitable spirit which, for good or for evil, has ever been the characteristic of her race, though refused a The Queen ticket, resolved to force her way into the Abbey, and admittance: witness, at least, if she was not permitted to take part in, her death. the ceremony. She came to the door, accordingly, in an open barouche, drawn by six beautiful bays, accompanied by Lord and Lady Hood and Lady Anne Hamilton, and was loudly cheered by the populace as she passed along the streets. When she approached the Abbey, however, some cries of an opposite description were heard; and when she arrived at the door, she was respectfully, but firmly, refused admittance by the door-keeper, who had the painful duty imposed on him of denying access to his sovereign. She retired from the door, after some altercation, deeply mortified, amidst cries from the people, some cheers, but others which proved how much general opinion had changed in regard to her. Such was the chagrin she experienced from this event, that, combined with an obstruction of the bowels that soon after seized her, mortification ensued, which terminated fatally in little more than a fortnight afterwards. The ruling passion appeared strong in death. She ordered that her remains should not be left in England, but carried to her native 473, 474; land, and buried beside her ancestors, with this inscription, "Here lies Caroline of Brunswick, the injured Queen of England."1

1 Ann. Reg.

1821, 347,

348; App to Chron.;

Hughes, vi.

Martineau, i. 260.

Before the death of the Queen was known, the King had made preparations for a visit to Ireland, and it was not thought proper to interrupt them. On Saturday 11th August, his Majesty embarked at Holyhead, and on the following afternoon landed at Howth in the Bay of Dublin, where he was received with the loudest acclamations, and the most heartfelt demonstrations of loyalty, by that warm-hearted and easily-excited people. They escorted him with the most tumultuous acclamations to the viceregal lodge, from the steps of which he thus

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1821.

addressed them: "This is one of the happiest days of CHAP. my life. I have long wished to visit you. My heart has always been Irish from the day it first beat, I loved Ireland, and this day has shown me that I am beloved by my Irish subjects. Rank, station, honours, are nothing; but to feel that I live in the hearts of my Irish subjects, is to me exalted happiness." These felicitous expressions diffused universal enchantment, and, combined with the graceful condescension and dignified affability of manner which the Sovereign knew so well to exhibit when inclined to do so, roused the loyalty of the people to a perfect enthusiasm. For the week that he remained there, his life was a continued triumph: reviews, theatres, spectacles, and entertainments, succeeded one another in brilliant succession; and after a short sojourn at Slanes Castle, the seat of the Marquess of Conyngham, he re- 1821, 129, turned to England, and soon after paid a visit to Hanover, to Chron.; where he was received in the same cordial and splendid 474, 475. manner.1

1 Ann. Reg.

131; App.

Hughes, vi.

the Queen.

The funeral of the Queen took place on the 14th 111. August, at the very time when the King was receiving Funeral of the impassioned demonstrations of loyalty on the part of his Irish subjects; and it caused a painful and discreditable scene, which led to the dismissal of one of the most gallant officers in the English army from the service which his valour and conduct had so long adorned. It had been directed by her Majesty that her body, as already mentioned, should be taken to Brunswick to be interred. Anxious to avoid any rioting or painful occurrence in conveying the body from Brandenburg House, where she died, to the place where it was to be embarked, Harwich in Essex, Ministers had directed that the hearse which conveyed the body, with attendants suitable to her rank, should proceed by a circuitous route through the north suburbs of London and the new road to Islington. The direct road to Harwich, however, lay through the city; and the people were resolved that the procession

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1821.

CHAP. should go that way, that they might have an opportunity of testifying their respect to the illustrious deceased. As the orders of the persons intrusted with the direction of the procession were to go the other way, and they attempted to do so, the populace formed in a close column twenty deep, across the road at Cumberland Gate, and after a severe conflict, both there and at Tottenham Court Road, in the course of which two men were un1 Ann. Reg. fortunately killed by shots from the Life-Guards, the pro1821, 126, cession was fairly forced into the line which the people to Chron.; desired, and proceeded through the city in great pomp, 474, 475; amidst an immense crowd of spectators, with the Lord Mayor and civic authorities at its head, the bells all tolling, and the shops shut.1

127; App.

Hughes, vi.

Martineau, i. 261.

112.

of Sir R.

Wilson from the army.

The procession reached Harwich without further interDismissal ruption, and the unhappy Queen was at length interred at Brunswick on August 23d. But the occurrence in London led to a melancholy result in Great Britain. Sir Robert Wilson, who had remonstrated with the military on occasion of this affray, from motives of humanity, and taken an active part in the procession, though not in the riot, and the police magistrate who had yielded to the violence of the populace, and changed the direction of the procession, were both dismissed, the first from the service, the last from his situation. However much all must regret that so gallant and distinguished an officer as Sir Robert Wilson should have been lost, even for a time, to the British army, no right-thinking person can hesitate as to the propriety of this step. Obedience is the first duty of the armed force it acts, but should never deliberate. He ( who tries to make soldiers forget their duty to their sovereign, or sets the example of doing so, fails in his duty to his king, but still more to his country;2 for the cause of 2 Hughes, vi. 475, 476; freedom has been often thrown back, but never yet was, 1821, 128. in the end, promoted by military revolt; and it was not a time to provoke such a catastrophe in Great Britain,

Ann. Reg.